Will the Bears change who calls offensive plays? 'We're in the middle of that process,' says Matt Eberflus.

CHICAGO — With a chance to relay his updated thoughts and visions for the Chicago Bears through his usual Monday morning interview on “Kap & Hood” on WMVP-AM 1000, coach Matt Eberflus’ cell connection faltered. Twice. And then a third time. From there, the interview was canceled.

So much for clear lines of communication. So much for better understanding where Eberflus and his regime might be leaning following Sunday’s embarrassing 19-3 home loss to the New England Patriots.

Eberflus is scheduled to speak again at noon, meeting with Bears beat reporters inside Halas Hall. Perhaps then more clarity will be obtained. But there’s no question that the Bears season has reached a pivotal juncture where major changes must be considered.

After the team’s third consecutive loss — and its second without scoring a touchdown — Eberflus said Sunday afternoon that he planned to look at everything as the Bears work to troubleshoot their latest problems in a season where the big-picture hopes have plummeted fast.

In the portion of Monday morning’s radio interview on WMVP-AM 1000 that was audible, Eberflus kept the door open for possible changes to the Bears’ offensive play calling, which could mean either the dismissal or demotion of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

“We’re in the middle of that process right now,” Eberflus said Monday morning. “We’re looking at adjustments and changes throughout the whole situation there. So again, we’re in the middle of the process of that whole evaluation.”

Eberflus said he would use “a thorough process” to reach a decision on Waldron and other possible changes to the offense.

“You have to look at the whole body of work,” Eberflus said, “in making sure we’re doing the right things for our football team moving forward.”

If Waldron were to be relieved of his play-calling duties, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown would be the most likely candidate to supplant Waldron, a move that would be made with the hope of rejuvenating a suddenly listless and directionless offense.

On Sunday, the offense’s dysfunction was undeniable. The Bears went 1 for 14 on third downs against New England and managed just one field goal on 11 possessions. They have now gone 23 possessions since their last touchdown and have scored only 27 points on 34 drives during their current three-game losing skid.

In that span, quarterback Caleb Williams has thrown for just 468 yards, posting a 64.7 rating and failing to throw a touchdown pass.

Eberflus though rejected the suggestion Monday morning that Williams be pushed to the sideline temporarily to regather himself.

“I know Caleb is a resilient player, a strong player and he’s a strong person,” Eberflus said. “And he has been through adversity before. I know he’ll come out the other side of this.”

Even with a decimated offensive line and a rookie quarterback, the Bears struggles proved jarring Sunday in a disheartening home loss to the last-place Patriots. After nine games, the Bears now rank 29th in the NFL in total offense and 28th in passing yards.

It was hoped this might be a breakout season for the offense. In addition to drafting Williams at No. 1 in April, the Bears traded for Keenan Allen this offseason, signed D’Andre Swift in free agency and selected Rome Odunze in the first round, adding those playmakers to a group that already featured DJ Moore and Cole Kmet.

The Bears hired Waldron last winter to replace Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator. But through his first nine games in Chicago, the output of Waldron’s offense has lagged behind the production of the 2023 Bears under Getsy in total offense, rushing offense, third down efficiency, sack rate and yards per passing play.

The Bears are readying to begin a 12-day stretch in which they play three consecutive division games against the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. At this point, the team’s fading playoff hopes may be difficult to revive. But given the team’s direction, the Bears seem as if they would benefit from some form of change.

Eberflus indicated Monday morning that the process of assessing change, though, could take a day or two to finalize.

“We’re looking at all things from top to bottom and making the adjustments necessary,” he said. “And that will get done here in the next 24-48 hours.”

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